how do people get motivated
Sorchya
Posts: 49 Member
I am so not motivated and am forcing myself through the motions and frankly I hate this. In my mind I have to do it because I am bad and it is a punishment, and I can not enjoy the good things.
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I think why I want to lose weight, and honestly it make me feel better when I do get out an excise, nothing crazy for me just walking. But I don't want to get so big I cant walk and I am heading down that path if I don't do something about it.0
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It's not about motivation, it's about discipline.
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You deserve to be the best you that you can be, well done for persevering- you did not throw in the towel, pretty soon people are going to start to see the change in you, this will spur you on, been there. Still get fed up with it, but the general feeling of well being is so worth it! Sounds like you have great willpower and this will bring you through, we can do this. Best of luck to you
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When I first started working out...I didn't take it too seriously even though I made some gains but there was a period of time I didn't work out at all (I just did push ups and sit ups). However...because I was overweight for my age and height....I had gallbladder surgery, which was successful. Over time...after watching alot of YT videos like the Hodgetwins and looking up articles online...I decided I wanted to make lifestyle choices and do everything in my power to be the best person I can be physically. I've lost a total of 18 lbs. from 212 lbs? So it's really about discipline in keeping a work out regime of strength training, cardio and eating right (no need to go on extreme diets...it's just the matter of being on a calorie deficit to lose fat or a surplus to gain muscle).0
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Change how our mind speaks to you. Lots of strategies if you google. When you mind says no I dont want to because... say to yourself on repeat "I want to because". Smile as you do it. Calm your mind, a small meditation, breathe deep think of your goals, inject belief in yourself, and then open your eyes refreshed. Also, surround yourself with what you want to become. Follow fitness/healthy eating instagram accounts for example. Finally, make a plan in advance and stick to it. Make it reasonable and attainable (do not push extreme dieting or workouts, do it steady and healthy) then stick to it no matter what, do not talk yourself out of it. Its your commitment. If you said Im eating these things today and going to the gym to do these exercises at this time. Do it. No excuses. You walk to the kitchen to get a treat, stop there its not in the plan. Get firm - its not just about this - being that way is what makes a person successful in all facets of life so see it as bettering yourself in all ways.
The fact is, a healthy life is a gift. As you make eating healthy and exercise part of you, your body craves it. I had a big plan to go out for bday pizza, and I did, and you know what? It sucked and I felt gross after and I have no desire to do it again. Get positive about making yourself a better version of you!! Every time you feel its a punishment, explain to yourself why its a gift and feel truly grateful.0 -
I am so not motivated and am forcing myself through the motions and frankly I hate this. In my mind I have to do it because I am bad and it is a punishment, and I can not enjoy the good things.
This sounds messed up imo and is unlikely to lead you to consistent success.
Forcing yourself to do something you dont want to is unlikely to be sustainable.
You say you hate it.
You say you have been bad , much like you would say to a child. You are 56 for goodness sake.
You view it as a punishment.
You say you are not allowed to enjoy good things.
Without wanting to sound mean, nut honestly is that the way to approach things. Big deal you have to lose some weight like the majority of people using this site, learn how the successful ones do it. It wont be with the above attitude.Motivation = A reason or reasons for acting or behaving in a particular way:
So think about what might motivate you, what do you wnat to achieve and why? What are your reasons for wnating to lose weight, what are he advantages? make a list of them. How importnat are they to you? Are they importnat enough to encourage you to make some changes, such as altering your eating habits and eating obly what your body needs? Will you be willing to do a little exercise each day, just by walking for 15-30 mins as a start?
You will have to weigh things up and decide if losing the weight offers enough reasons and advantages for you to commit and do what is needed or do you want things to carry on the way they are? Thats a choice you have to make.
Its either important enough to make change or it is not.
For me it was importnat enough.0 -
Seeing my dad suffer with poor quality of life caused by diabetes from a long time of poor choices is pretty motivating. Not to mention the dialysis he does 5 days a week.0
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It sounds like you need to switch it up! Find something you enjoy! Idk if it is your exercise or your diet that is giving you trouble, but try something new.
Tell people about your plan so that they can hold you accountable.
Learn more about health and fitness - subscribe to a magazine or follow some trainers through social media for daily inspiration.0 -
Unfortunately what works for one may not work for another. For me:
- I don't want to be embarrassed to go to the water park in the summer
- I don't want to be embarrassed to take my clothes off when "getting into bed"
- I don't want my daughter to be ashamed of me when I'm around her friends. I want her friends to see me and be in awe while asking "Is that YOUR dad?"
- I don't want to die as a result of poor health the way others in my family have
- I'm tired of being the guy that talks the talk, but always finds an excuse to not walk the walk
- Diet and exercise have become my foundations. No matter what else happens beyond my control, I can control my eating and my training. Nothing can take those things away from me
"You can motivate by fear, and you can motivate by reward. But both those methods are only temporary. The only lasting thing is self motivation."
~Homer Rice~0 -
I just wanted to point out that you have to change your mind set more then you need motivation. To say that you are bad and this is punishment is so wrong! You need to do some soul searching and make the decision of if you want to lose weight and why or you love yourself the way you are. Once you make that decision it will totally change. Good luck!0
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It's all in the mindset. If you're telling yourself the effort you're going to is punishment then you're just going to see it as a negative thing and give up. You need to look at the big picture. I don't deny myself foods I love. I moderate them. And I make compromises. If I know one day I'm going to be bad, if I'm going to eat out then I make sure that that day or the next day I go for a long walk and run. You have to make allowances and you have to give yourself permission to indulge sometimes, but then you make adjustments to accommodate that indulgence. It can be hard to keep a healthy balance but when you start to see results that will be all the motivation you will need.0
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I had to pay myself in the beginning for each workout I did and it worked!
But I do agree with some of the posters above that its a mindset. Have you ever see someone or depression? What you describe sounds like a larger issue and if not addressed will not lead to success for you. That in turn leads to a vicious cycle of always failing and being "bad". Sometimes you cant do it alone. You are worth happiness and joy!!!0 -
What motivates me? I want to feel good and look good more than I want the alternative. A lot of it has to do with attitude. I really don't see it as difficult, complicated or a punishment. The concepts are straightforward. If I do certain behaviors, I get certain results. You don't need to be extreme, just make small, healthy changes more and more over time until they become habit. If you don't rush it, it will happen. Good luck!0
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what motivates me? I have lost more this time than I have on many many diets in the past. I tell myself everyday I can do this. I am going to get to my goal. Do I have hard days? yes. I come here and read posts from others who have persevered and succeeded and had hard days too.
I have a long way to go to get to my final goal so I break it up into smaller pieces. lose 5 lbs or break through another zero or get to 10 % lost.
Good luck to you. YOU CAN DO THIS 0 -
Your mindset first has to be changed about how you feel about you.I am so not motivated and am forcing myself through the motions and frankly I hate this. In my mind I have to do it because I am bad and it is a punishment, and I can not enjoy the good things.
A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
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Ok, honestly, the thing that motivated me was a whole bunch of life changes happening at the same time (including a breakup). I don't know if I'd have done it otherwise.
Why are you bothering, though? Did you get bad news from a doc, something like that?0 -
Motivation does not work, I think. Make a commitment to change your life.
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Switch it around - what is the real punishment? Eating and living healthy and being good to yourself and your body, or slowly poisoning and killing yourself with sugar and fat and apathy?0
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Thanks! It looks like a lot of different answers and different viewpoints for me to think about. I do have very strong programming to overcome, was raised with a lot of abuse and I find myself saying those things back to myself now. And someone nailed one thing also that it is so much easier to take care of others than to take care of myself. I was looking for what works for others who have been down that road. Thanks for sharing! And I felt it to be important to be honest with my post, not sugar coat things. I was thinking there might be others who had started from a similar point.0
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Thanks! It looks like a lot of different answers and different viewpoints for me to think about. I do have very strong programming to overcome, was raised with a lot of abuse and I find myself saying those things back to myself now. And someone nailed one thing also that it is so much easier to take care of others than to take care of myself. I was looking for what works for others who have been down that road. Thanks for sharing! And I felt it to be important to be honest with my post, not sugar coat things. I was thinking there might be others who had started from a similar point.
Hey, I appreciate your honesty. Honesty is the first step to change. I tried therapy to change my mindset about things in general and it worked really well. I too went through abuse and it left deep emotional scars that would haunt me if I let it go on. I know what you mean when you say it is easier to take care of others. I, too thought like that. But then I would be MORE able to take care of others if I take better care of myself.
Good luck! If you need an accountability mate, let's motivate each other!
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I struggle from day to day to get the motivation to get up but once i do, it isn't so hard. Looking for new friends for support n chats. Add me if you like0
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It is different things to different people.
Sometimes it's a wake up call to take care of themselves, like after a heart attack or stroke, or if a family member has diabetes.
Having a picture here makes you more connected.
You also need to find versions of favorite foods that you love. You can't walk around hungry.
Also, you need to find exercise that you can commit to without hating it. If it's aqua boot camp, Zumba, bellydancing or dog walking - find something that's maintainable for you. If you hate it, you won't do it.0 -
I got fat once (50 extra pounds) and hated it. I hated how I looked, how I felt, how tired I would get, how my clothes kept getting tighter and tighter, how I felt like I let myself and others down. I also really hated having my stomach push my legs away when clipping toenails. I never want to be like that again.
I like how I feel when I exercise, I like how I look when I exercise, I like how supportive my family was of my marathon, I like being stronger, healthier and knowing I'll live a longer life, I like being able to do athletic things on a whim. Best of all, I like myself again.
That's my motivation.0 -
Change your perspective and you will change your world!0
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Unfortunately what works for one may not work for another. For me:
- I don't want to be embarrassed to go to the water park in the summer
- I don't want to be embarrassed to take my clothes off when "getting into bed"
- I don't want my daughter to be ashamed of me when I'm around her friends. I want her friends to see me and be in awe while asking "Is that YOUR dad?"
- I don't want to die as a result of poor health the way others in my family have
- I'm tired of being the guy that talks the talk, but always finds an excuse to not walk the walk
- Diet and exercise have become my foundations. No matter what else happens beyond my control, I can control my eating and my training. Nothing can take those things away from me
"You can motivate by fear, and you can motivate by reward. But both those methods are only temporary. The only lasting thing is self motivation."
~Homer Rice~
This was really good stuff! Thanks for sharing!0 -
As bad as it is, buying things motivates me. Is started with a gym membership that offered classes I liked and was close to home and then bought a water bottle and sports bras that were actually supportive. After about a month I bought myself a new food processor and blender. And my boyfriend just bought me a food scale! He was actually skeptical of me buying things because he wasn't sure I'd stick to it, but I've lost 11-12 lbs and now he's buying me things! Lol I probably sound so high maintenance (I work two jobs)0
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Find something you love to do. For instance, I HATE going to the gym. HATE IT. But I love workout out in the comfort of my own home. Some people hate running, others love playing basketball or soccer. Try to find something active that you actually enjoy doing and then it won't feel so much like a chore.0
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“Change happens when the pain of staying the same is greater than the pain of change.”
― Tony Robbins
This is one of my favorite quotes and it's really true for me. I hit rock bottom and I decided that I would rather die than spend one more day living the life I was living. So I decided to change. And I've lost 30 lbs in almost 2 months now. You just have to find the reasons why you want to do it and you have to decide to do it.
Though, I must warn you, motivation will quickly fade and you have to push through that. You have to learn self control and discipline and those are two of the hardest things to learn. Believe in yourself, work your butt off, and you'll achieve whatever it is that you set out to do.0 -
don't expect it to be easy.0
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AlineJames wrote: »It sounds like you need to switch it up! Find something you enjoy! Idk if it is your exercise or your diet that is giving you trouble, but try something new.
Tell people about your plan so that they can hold you accountable.
Learn more about health and fitness - subscribe to a magazine or follow some trainers through social media for daily inspiration.
Yes, all of this!
Also, my IG account is 95% fitness related and my FB account is probably 50%. This keeps me motivated because I see others going after what they want and as silly as it sounds, it makes me feel like I am part of something. If I was just going about this without the support of my own little fitness community that I have built then I definitely wouldn't be where I am today or where I will be in the future.
It is definitely a lifestyle and not everyone is going to support you. Many in my family think I am being selfish spending so much time "on myself"...well personally I think I deserve it. I like feeling strong and happy and healthy...isn't that the point of living? My daughters get to see a strong independent mother and realize they are free to seek their own strengths.
I am rambling...but to summarize, you aren't going to get a kick in the a*s of motivation every single time you need to work out or eat within your goals...you just have to do it. Dedication will create lasting motivation.
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